


this time, next year

by constant



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3racha best boys!, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M, and slightly gothic, are ice cream vans still a thing?, but he's okay, idk shit abt songwriting and it shows clearly in this fic hehe srry abt that, minho best boy!, minho's character is a bit weird, spoiler: he has a dead stuff collection, strangers to ???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25212157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constant/pseuds/constant
Summary: As a final requirement for graduation, music majors Changbin, Chan, and Jisung are required to produce an EP with the theme: summer.Summer!All Changbin associates summer with is the humid weather.As he struggles to meet the requirements of the project, he meets Minho, Jisung's childhood friend and neighbor, whose eccentricities intrigue Changbin like no one ever has before. And through little late-night rendezvous, Changbin might have just found himself a muse.
Relationships: Bang Chan & Han Jisung | Han & Seo Changbin, Lee Minho | Lee Know/Seo Changbin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 74
Collections: Summer Boy





	this time, next year

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: **day 4: broken air-conditioning**  
>  big thanks to the summer boy ff mods for organizing this fic event for changbin's bday! <3  
>   
> this is for tina: porque minbin siempre me recuerda a ti

Picture this: three graduating music majors sprawled on the living room floor - one shirtless, one hogging the fan, and the other complaining about the weather every five seconds. 

Changbin has propped himself on the window sill in hopes of catching just a tiny gust of breeze, only to be led in disappointment. Like the past few days, the weather remains prickly dry, offering nothing but humid air.

Changbin’s headphones hang limply over his neck, the playlist that he has specially prepared for this so-called _vacation_ resounding blearily. 

He’s been trying to keep his focus on the project. They all are. But with this unbearable heat, they can’t help getting sidetracked, ending up worrying about making themselves cool and comfortable and forgetting about the reason why they are in Jisung's mother's hometown. It’s safe to say that things aren’t exactly going as they planned - they’re supposed to be done with brainstorming by now (according to their time table), but so far their idea bank remains blank. And apparently, so are their minds. 

Changbin’s one step away from graduating and there’s only one requirement left for him to comply: thesis. He has heard about it from the start of freshman year - all music majors produce an EP for their thesis. It’s what music students all look forward to. After all, they did enroll in the course to learn music writing and producing, not to get quizzed about music history and theory. He’s also aware that different themes are assigned to the groups for diversity. 

He had been elated when he got grouped with Chan and Jisung. He has worked with Chan a few times and knows how reliable he is. Jisung, on the other hand, has a reputation for being a lyrical genius. On top of his group members’ competence, he’s also glad that he’s with people he knows he can get along without trouble. Everything has been picking up at that point, that is until Professor Park assigned them their theme: _Summer_. 

Summer! All Changbin associates summer with is the humid weather. His ideas for the theme are just as dry as the season. 

Unlike him, his other group members seem to be down with the idea which is an immense relief because Changbin doesn’t know what to make of the project if all of them hated summer. 

Jisung has been the most excited among the trio. He goes out of his way to invite them over to his grandma's house located near the coastline, where he claims the experience might trigger their creative juices.

"The beach is only a mile away from gran-gran’s house. We could take my uncles' old bicycles. I hear there are newly opened water sports activities. We can try that as well!" 

While Changbin had been reluctant, Chan had decided, so that left Changbin no choice but to give in to the proposal. 

And now that they're here, Changbin regrets not voicing out his thoughts back then. He was sort of expecting it, but he still decided to give it a shot and hoped it's not as bad as what his gut feeling has been telling him. 

But it _is_ bad. It's too hot to go out. Heck, it's too hot to just even move a muscle. To make matters worse, the air conditioning unit in the bedroom they're supposed to stay in is broken. They overlooked the most obvious thing that they should have considered for their plan to push through: the weather.

“So,” Chan starts, still sprawled on the floor, breaking the silence between them. “Any ideas?” 

“Oh, I have one, hyung. How about putting a shirt on?” Jisung drawls, his tone devoid of sarcasm and mockery. It was a genuine suggestion, but Changbin doesn’t see through that as he hurls a throw pillow towards Jisung. 

It hits him smack on the face. “And how about _you_ stop hogging the fan?” 

A little argument between the younger men ensues, and Chan, after letting them go on for a moment, realizes that he couldn't stand their bickering just as much as this scorching heat. 

"Okay, enough." Chan lifts himself off the floor and gets in between the two. 

He addresses Jisung, "I'll put a shirt on, but you have to move a bit away from the fan. And you," He says, facing Changbin. He studies him for a second which makes the younger highly conscious. "You’ve been frowning since we got here. For the love of god, please smile a little." 

Without waiting for any of the younger ones to respond, Chan takes his exit as he heads towards the direction of their bedroom, mumbling something about the heat making all of them alarmingly cranky.

“He’s right, you know.” Jisung says after Chan has gone, moving farther away from the fan, letting the air reach Changbin's general direction. “You should loosen up a little. I can tell you’re stressed out about the project. We still have plenty of time to work on it.” 

“Yeah.” Changbin muses absent-mindedly, falling into the soft cushions of the couch. He feels his body relax in just a few seconds, his mind subduing a great deal. Chan is right. The heat _is_ making them cranky. He can feel Jisung’s boring gaze on him, so he looks up, meets his eyes, and forces out a smile. 

Jisung smiles back, brighter than Changbin ever could. 

"It's good that you listen to Chan." Changbin says after looking away, gaze now fixed on the ceiling. 

“You and I both. I don't want to know what happens if I don't." 

Changbin lets out a grin because he knows exactly what Jisung means. As the eldest of the trio, Chan naturally acts as the leader of the group, keeping them in check before the quarrellings lead into something more serious. Jisung likes to joke around all the time, and he particularly prefers to have Changbin as the butt of his pranks and jokes (much to the annoyance of the other) and only jokes around Chan on rare occasions. Despite noticing this varying treatment from the youngest, Changbin couldn’t help but understand Jisung’s sentiments. It’s not that Chan openly demands respect. As a matter of fact, it’s the other way around. Changbin has not met anyone who is as humble and selfless as Chan is. He doesn’t ask for respect, he just deserves it. 

“I took another shower.” Chan says when he re-enters the room, now fully clothed. 

Struck by a strong sense of motivation, Changbin lifts his headphones back on his head, willing to give this summer challenge another try now that they’re all in better moods. He goes through the playlist again, which consists of all the summer songs he could conjure off the top of his head - _summer’s here, summer paradise, sweet summertime, summer nights, summertime magic,_ etc. 

He gives it a few minutes, waiting for whatever it is he’s waiting for to finally kick in. In the background, he can hear Chan and Jisung discussing. Not wanting to get distracted, Changbin closes his eyes to get a better feel of the tracks. Minutes passed, and he still gets nothing out of it. It’s just not working. It’s as if he’s stuck in an abyss he’s expected to get out of and he doesn’t know where to start to achieve this. 

As if voicing out his thoughts, Jisung cries, “This is harder than I thought.” Still seated on the floor, he moves closer to the couch and leans his head against Changbin’s knee. 

Chan regards them both for a short second before speaking up, “Let’s try brainstorming again.” 

Changbin almost laughs at _‘again’_. 

Chan proceeds, his tone lifting in enthusiasm, “Come on - what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word _‘summer’_?” 

“The heat.” 

“Electric fans.”

“Broken air-conditioning.” 

“Changbin’s crankiness.” 

“Jisung’s half-assed vacation plans.” 

“Hey!” Jisung shoves his knee lightly, and Changbin responds by ruffling his hair. 

“Okay, okay.” Chan cuts in as Jisung reaches out towards Changbin; the latter flinches away. “Let’s think of more. What else?” 

Jisung sits back down on the floor, and Changbin immediately relaxes. They relapse into silence once again as they think of ideas. As they _try_ to, at least. 

Suddenly, something sets off from a distance, a cheery jingle of some sort which grows louder by the second. It seems as though the source of the sound is _approaching_ them. It takes the trio almost at the same time to realize what it is. 

“ICE CREAM!!!” 

Jisung dashes out the door but promptly halts by the doorway when he can’t seem to find his footwear. 

“Wait, where are my slippers?” 

“Just use whatever!” Changbin urges him, the ice cream van jingle now alarmingly loud. 

“No! I don’t want Chan hyung’s bunny slippers.”

“What’s wrong with my bunny slippers?”

“Hurry, you idiot or you’ll miss it!” 

The van is now in view, approaching their block at a speedy pace for an ice cream van.

Jisung glances out the street and panics. “Oh my god, wait! Where are my slippers!?” 

Changbin groans. “For fuck's sake, I’ll do it!”

Changbin shoves Jisung out of the way and quickly slips in Chan's pink bunny slippers. As he runs towards the front yard, Chan and Jisung yell out their orders after him. Changbin thinks he heard vanilla and something with chocolate in it. 

By the time he has gone out the street, the van has already moved past the house, so Changbin is forced to pick up his pace, yelling at the vehicle to stop. 

A figure suddenly rushes past him out of nowhere. The jingle must have been too loud because Changbin hasn't heard the person closing in. The person, he realizes now that he is within Changbin's line of sight, is a man holding a purple umbrella over his head. 

He approaches the van faster than Changbin’s legs could ever make him and actually manages to halt the vehicle by tapping lightly against its rear. 

The person/stranger pants as he leans against the side of the van. Changbin warily approaches, stopping just a few feet away from him. He rests his hands on his knees as he gasps for breath - _that_ and also the fact that he doesn't want to face the stranger directly for some reason. Not when he's all breathless and sweaty and all frowning at this unbearable heat. In his crouching position, Changbin randomly catches sight of his flip flops. 

The stranger's laughter rings through the awkward air, reminding Changbin of the kind of breeze he has been longing for these past few days. Changbin looks up, only to be met with the stranger's smiling face.

“Well, this is embarrassing.” 

"Yeah." Changbin responds, more for the lack of anything better to say. 

The man's lips are slightly turned up in a half-smile, but his eyes tell more of his amusement than any other part of his face. 

The last time Changbin had seen someone this beautiful, he was still in high school, and the beautiful person in question ended up being one of his closest friends that all the beauty he had seen on Hyunjin's face had now faded away. 

The beautiful stranger breaks him out of his daze by addressing him, “You don’t mind if I order first?” 

Changbin shakes his head, stepping back a little. “Not at all.” 

For a few minutes, Changbin’s left to stare at the back of his head as he waits for his turn. Like an idiot.

_Damn, even his nape looks pretty._

Changbin startles when the stranger suddenly turns around to look at him. 

"Is the heat not bothering you?" 

"Huh?" 

“Here.” He pulls Changbin by the arm without warning whatsoever, bringing him under the umbrella beside him. The man gives him a small smile before turning his attention back to the van, waiting for his order. When he finally takes one mint chocolate cone from the vendor, Changbin expects him to take his leave and head towards wherever he came from, but he doesn't. He just stands there. 

“Hey, you ordering or not?” 

Changbin looks up at the ice cream man, who glowers at him with beads of sweat on his face. 

“Uh, yeah. I’ll have one shooting star, one vanilla, and one uhm-” What did Jisung say he wanted again? In his panic, Changbin resolves to say whatever first comes to mind, “-mint choco.” 

Waiting for the desserts to be ready is torture. Changbin’s utterly conscious with the other man’s presence beside him, still holding up the umbrella for both of them. Occasionally he would hear a slurping sound from his direction, and it takes all of Changbin’s strength not to glance his way. After a few moments, he’s finally handed of their orders and he and the stranger walk away from the van together in a few strides until he turns towards the bungalow next to Jisung’s grandma’s house. 

“Bye!” The man waves at him cheerfully, taking Changbin off guard. 

Changbin seems to have lost his voice, so he responds with a reluctant wave.

  
  


Jisung berates him for the mint chocolate ice cream. 

“I said, _plain_ chocolate chip. Not mint.” Jisung shudders. "Ugh, thanks for the toothpaste."

“I was in a hurry, okay? And what else can you do? _That’s_ what you have right now.”

"Gee, I wonder why." 

Changbin isn’t in the mood for another verbal spar with the younger. His mind is still full of the stranger-neighbor man from earlier. When he couldn’t take the bugging part in him anymore, Changbin brings the question up.

“Who was that?”

Both Chan and Jisung turn to him quizzically. 

“Huh?” 

“That guy earlier with me at the ice cream van.”

A flash of realization passes Jisung’s expression before settling back to impassiveness. “Oh, you mean Minho?”

“Minho…” Changbin repeats in a whisper as if testing the sound of the name in his voice. 

Jisung takes a messy lick on his ice cream. Changbin gives him a look, repulsed. 

As if sensing his thoughts, Jisung tells him, “You don’t want to get mixed up with him, hyung. He’s a weird fella.”

“You know,” Changbin starts, “I never liked the way you keep judging people too early.” 

Chan nods thoughtfully; Changbin takes this as a sign of agreement from his statement and not merely a reaction from his tasty treat. 

“ _Too early_? Hyung, I’ve known him for nine years. He used to have a dead stuff collection when we were kids.” 

They relapsed into silence - Jisung’s last words still ringing in Changbin’s ears. Dead _what_?

“You know, now that I’ve given it some thought-” Jisung goes on, “I think the collection hasn’t stopped.” 

“You mean, bugs and that sort, right?” Chan asks, already halfway through his cone. 

“Yeah - bees, spiders, snails, scorpions…”

“ _Scorpions_?!” Chan gawks. 

Unknowingly, a grin forms on Changbin’s face. “Cool.” 

Chan and Jisung both send him a look. Fortunately, they don’t say anything about his comment. 

“Also,” Jisung continues, "He waters his plants by chucking water balloons at 'em." 

Changbin couldn't help chortling as he pictures the idea in his head. His other companions look towards him again; one of bewilderment and the other of pure shock. 

"You think it's _funny_?" 

Of course, it’s funny. Changbin should be the one asking them how they think it's _not_. It's definitely something to have a good laugh about.

Jisung doesn’t say anything more about Minho after that but that doesn’t stop Changbin from getting intrigued by the man, and from looking out the window, out towards the bungalow next door. 

  
  


Bright morning sunlight fills the front yard, and the trio takes this time to take advantage of the early morning breeze before it transforms into scorching hell in a few hours.

The trio are propped in respective collapsible chairs, basking in Vitamin D and the calming silence.

Their solace is only interrupted when they hear a splashing, splattering sound from somewhere behind them. Chan is the first to sit up, looking over his sunglasses towards the commotion. 

"What is that?" 

Jisung scrambles to his feet next, tiptoeing to look over the fence behind them. Almost immediately, he crouches down with an exaggerated, horrified expression. 

He mouths something which Changbin couldn't decipher. In his curiosity, the latter stands up to check for himself. 

There, on the other side of the fence, is Jisung's grandma's neighbor, Minho, watering the plants just how Jisung described it yesterday - by chucking water balloons at them. 

It doesn't appear to be the most efficient way to do it, it looks more like he's killing the plants more than sustaining them. And this, for some reason, amuses Changbin. 

Beside him, he hears Jisung say in a quiet voice, “Now I’m definitely convinced he still has his dead stuff collection.” 

"Morning, neighbor!" 

Jisung startles as Chan's loud voice comes sneaking behind him and Changbin. At the same time, Minho turns towards them but not before Jisung crouches down, pulling Changbin along with him.

Changbin's _grateful_ that Jisung has acted so quickly, otherwise they would have gotten caught staring like a bunch of weirdos. He doesn't think he can handle Minho perceiving him as such, he thinks he has already acted uncoolly yesterday at the ice cream van. Not that he cares about what Minho thinks about him or anything.

"Good morning! Did you just move in?" Minho's cheerful tone rings through the air. Changbin searches for a whole in the fence which he can peek through, but there doesn't seem to be any. 

"Oh, no. I'm only here for a couple of weeks. I'm staying with Jisung." 

“Jisung?" A short pause, then, "Oh, that mousy boy?”

" _MOUSY BOY_?" Jisung mouths in disbelief. Changbin couldn't help but crack a smile. There's something about agitated Jisung which amuses him. He hopes Minho keeps talking.

“I didn’t know he was here. How’s his grandma?” 

A long awkward silence follows. Changbin feels Jisung stiffen beside him, and if he's to be honest, so does he. Fortunately, Chan speaks up. 

“She passed away two years ago, Minho-ssi.”

This time, Jisung turns towards Changbin with a horrified whimpering look before turning to look up at Chan, then finally hanging his head down sullenly. 

Chan continues, “Which I’m sure you’ve heard of since… _you’re neighbors_.”

Jisung pulls at his hair - out of frustration or horror, Changbin’s not sure. 

"No wonder I don't see her anymore." Comes the casual response. 

Jisung looks like he's about to faint at this point. 

  
  


Later when they got back inside the house (Changbin and Jisung had to crawl to the back door to keep on with their _not-being-there_ agenda), Jisung collapses on the couch. 

“I told you he’s weird! He doesn’t even know my grandma passed away. Oh, poor grandma Han." Looking up at the ceiling, Jisung whispers, "I’m so sorry gran-gran.” 

  
  


With some sort of miracle, the trio has managed to bear the heat the next day, finally getting the chance to head towards the beach and spend the entire day in the sand (in Changbin's case) and the waters (in Chan and Jisung's case). 

It appears so that they aren't the only ones who have taken a chance at the beach that day. 

When they arrived, there were almost no suitable spots left on the shore for a resting spot without having strangers within an arm's length away from them. 

Changbin immediately knows that there is no way he's getting in the water with all those people in there. Lucky for him, Chan and Jisung don't try to persuade him as they seem to be more than ready to plunge themselves into the sea.

Changbin watches as the two find a local to teach them to surf. He takes photos every now and then, even recording videos especially when it is Jisung's turn just in case he falls and gets himself into slapstick comedy. (Spoiler: he doesn't. Strangely enough, Jisung has gotten the hang of it quickly.) 

Lunch break is the packed tuna sandwiches that Chan has prepared for them beforehand. The two surfers might have been starving because they golfed down their meals in a few seconds. 

"Are we feeling inspired yet? Can we go now?" Changbin asks, not a trace of irritation in his voice. In fact, he's grinning towards his companions, heart warming at the view of their tanning skin and damp sandy hair.

Jisung is on his feet in a second. "Yes, I'm inspired - so inspired for another surfing round!" He dashes towards the water, making Chan yell frantically after him, "But you just ate!" 

Jisung is too far gone to hear. 

Changbin chuckles, shaking his head. "He has the energy of a five-year-old." 

"Energy _and_ stamina." Chan fake-groans, "After stuffing my face, I don't think I can move anymore." 

He lays flat on the mat, eyes squinting shut due to the gleam of the sunlight.

"Have you written anything yet?" Changbin asks casually. 

"I've gotten down two instrumentals so far but none of which is good enough yet." 

"I'm sure you'll work it out. We still have plenty of time after all." 

"You?" 

Changbin bites his lip. He has the audacity to feel ashamed. "Nada." 

Chan lifts his head to look at him. After sensing the sheepish mood coming off from the younger, he sits up. 

"What's wrong?" 

Changbin shrugs as he plays with the sand by his feet, trying to act casual. "I'm finding it hard to create something out of the theme." 

Chan is quiet for a moment, thinking. 

"Maybe you're thinking about it too hard?" 

"Yeah, maybe." 

"Have you tried getting a muse?" 

Changbin snaps his head towards the older. "Sorry?" 

"A muse. You know, a human inspiration for your art." 

With the words ' _human inspiration',_ a certain stranger crosses Changbin's mind. 

"Not yet but I'll keep that in mind." Changbin forces out a smile, "Thanks for the advice." 

Chan claps him on the back before laying back on the mat. With that, the conversation is dropped between them and Changbin takes the phrase ' _keeping in mind'_ almost too literally. 

  
  


They arrive in Jisung's grandma's house just before sunset - tired, happy, sun-kissed, and highly driven. Changbin knows from the way they exchanged silent smiles that a lot of work is about to be done tonight. And he's excited because _finally._ Finally, the EP is coming together. 

Changbin falls a few steps behind Chan and Jisung as they head up the house's front porch. He couldn't help taking a glance at the bungalow next door, and just as he expected (or wished), Minho's right there, standing behind a bush with gloved hands. 

He perks up upon meeting eyes with Changbin, then his face breaks into a blinding smile, waving cheerfully as if they've known each other for a long time. 

  
  


Changbin couldn’t believe that the beach therapy actually worked. 

After dinner, they set off to work individually; Chan taking up the living room, and Jisung positioning himself on the dining table. No one has bothered with the bedroom, because again - _broken air-conditioning_. Changbin, who is last to take out his laptop because he has to wash the dishes for losing a round of rock-paper-scissors, settles on the porch outside. 

He gets lost in his work for quite some time, sitting on the front steps with his laptop on his lap. He can’t tell how long. Has it been minutes? Hours? 

It isn’t until he feels a cramp coming on his leg when he finally removes his headphones off, placing it and the laptop on the floor before getting on his feet. 

“Pst! Hey!” 

At first, Changbin thinks he might just be imagining it, but the voice calls on, forcing him to look towards the source of the sound. 

The night is eerily quiet, save for the cicadas buzzing in the background. Thanks to the streetlight right across the house, Changbin has no difficulty looking around in the dim yard. Over the fence, he sees half a face of a person peeking out, feline eyes blinking at him curiously. 

Changbin takes a step back in horror, but the person immediately forces his entire head to be in view and he eventually relaxes when he realizes who it is. 

Minho. 

“Are you Jisung’s friend?” He asks, the sudden question startling Changbin. 

“You can say that.” 

"You know, Jisung pissed his pants when we were younger.” 

Changbin sputters at the random statement. Minho, unbothered by his reaction, proceeds with the story, telling how Jisung’s grandma whooped his ass right after because the floor is then covered in piss. 

Changbin chuckles, his laughter echoing into the night. He makes sure to store this information in his head so he can use it against the younger in the future. 

Minho ends his story by saying, “I like Jisung.”

This sobers Changbin up. 

"I like him too. He can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I like him." It’s the truth. It’s not something Changbin would admit in front of Jisung's face, but it’s the truth.

The lower half of Minho’s face gets obscured by the fence again. Changbin assumes he’s tiptoeing as his whole face reappears again in a second. 

Minho beams at him, his smile brighter than the gleam of the streetlight across the street. "Wanna see something cool, Mr.-?" 

"Uh, Changbin." 

"Wanna see something cool, Changbin-ssi?" 

Changbin doesn't even hesitate. "Sure, why not." 

"Come on over then." Minho beckons for him to cross the lot, disappearing out of view before Changbin can even respond. 

Doubt starts to course through him but it’s still too subtle that Changbin easily brushes it off. As he reaches Minho’s lot, the man leads the way to his backyard, saying nothing but a couple of gestures to follow him. 

"My name is Minho, by the way." He says, looking over his shoulder to send Changbin a smile. There’s no artificial light around the pathway leading to his backyard; the window on the side of the house they’re passing through is also dark. If not for the moonlight, the entire scene would have been too grim for Changbin. If not for Minho’s smile, Changbin would have responded better than, 

“I know.” 

If not for the moonlight illuminating Minho’s smile, all that is left of his resolve would have been stamped down by the doubt that he shouldn’t trust someone he barely even knows. But there’s that, and Changbin’s here, and he trusts Minho despite the odd situation. 

They don’t say anything else until they reach their destination. Changbin initially thought that they would stop at the backyard, but Minho heads straight to the fence and unlatches a couple of pickets, creating a hole big enough for either of them to go through. 

“After you.” He cooly says, and Changbin peeks through the whole, seeing nothing but silhouettes of untrimmed grass. This time, he actually hesitates. 

“How do I know you’re not some serial killer who has found its next potential victim?” 

The response comes in a tone that is half-breath and half-sound. Minho’s laughter alone convinces him that he is not the serial killer Changbin thinks he is.

“I used to have a dead stuff collection, you know. And for all the years that I kept with it, I never wished for any of those critters to die for the benefit of my collection.” 

This renders Changbin speechless. His mind races, his thoughts shooting in different directions. He’s torn between laughing out loud and running away, but for some reason, he does neither. Instead, he looks at the man before him, still crouched before the gap in the fence, staring up at him with a look of wonder. 

“Even if you did, it’s not like you can add a dead person in your collection.” 

Minho shakes his head, grinning. “Actually, that would have been brilliant.” 

A normal person would have fled at that response, but Changbin realizes that it’s high time for him to accept that he isn’t. And that Minho and all of his eccentricities only fascinate him more than it freaks him out, leaving him in want of _more_. 

With this in mind, Changbin helps himself through the hole in the fence. 

The field is vast, surrounding them is untrimmed grass and at a farther distance, Changbin can just make out the silhouette of trees. 

Minho lurks near the fence and finds a spot in a second, hurriedly motioning for Changbin to sit beside him. They sit in silence for a few seconds, their back leaning against the fence. Changbin waits for Minho to say something, or for something extravagant to happen. But the scene before them stays dark and quiet.

“Is there supposed to be something-” 

“Hush, look! Here they come.” 

Changbin follows his gaze forward. At first, he sees nothing except the faint silhouette of trunks and grass slowly becoming clear to him as his eyes adjust to the dark. And then he sees one. 

A pale yellowish glow floating about in the darkness. And then comes another. And another. The next thing he knows, the area is filled with blazing yellow dots, soaring and zooming all around and past them. 

Lightning bugs!

Beside him, Minho chuckles delightedly and Changbin feels more drawn towards the sound of his laughter than the stunning scenery before him. He admires the way the bugs’ lights reflect on his face. It’s just like under the moonlight except _brighter_. 

“Aren’t they pretty?” Minho muses as he catches one in his hands. He turns to Changbin, offering his cupped hands towards him, “Here.”

Changbin lets him place the bug on his palm, making their hands brush lightly at the process. He doesn’t even get to bask in the contact when he feels the bug tickling his palm, so Changbin’s forced to let it go. 

“What do you think?” 

The expectant look on Minho’s face surprises Changbin. Maybe because he just doesn’t strike him as someone who would care about another person’s opinion of the things he likes. 

“I’ve always wanted to see fireflies before.” Changbin begins, fixing his gaze at the scene before them again. He feels Minho’s eyes prickling at the side of his face. “They’re beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here.” 

And finally turning to the man beside him, he says, “And for not actually being a serial killer.” 

Minho laughs again, just as Changbin expected he would. That’s probably the only predictable thing about him and Changbin’s glad that it is. 

  
  


Changbin, Chan, and Jisung only have less than a week left before they leave for Seoul which means they have less than a week left to spend in Jisung’s grandma’s house. Less than a week for them to finish 80% of their EP. 

And for Changbin: less than a week of late-night rendezvous with Minho. 

There have been a couple more nights with the fireflies, and the rest was spent inside Minho’s house where they sit by the porch drinking either banana milk or an iced chocolate drink. 

“So you studied in Busan? And that’s where you spent the last four years, right?” 

“Yes.” Minho answers nonchalantly before taking a sip of his chocolate drink. 

So that explains why he hasn’t heard about Jisung’s grandma. Changbin makes a mental note to tell his other companions about this fact, but he also knows that if he does, they would start asking questions that Changbin most definitely does not want to be asked. 

Questions like: How do you know? Or: Since when did you and Minho get so close? 

Fortunately, Changbin gets spared by this burden as their last day approaches. 

One morning, Minho invites them over to his front yard, asking if they can help him water his plants. He points towards a bucket full of water balloons and the trio looks at each other for a second before sprinting towards the next lot. 

What should have been just a peaceful hydrating session turned into a full-blown water fight. When they run out of balloons, Minho takes out his garden hose and sprinkles water all over the area, soaking everyone down to their innermost piece of clothing. 

"I told you he's not so bad." Jisung says when they're heading back to his house when they're finally away from Minho's earshot. 

Changbin and Chan exchange looks, then they burst into laughter as they follow the younger back inside. 

A certain kind of lightness fills Changbin from then on. It accounts more to the fact that Chan and Jisung have finally warmed up to Minho. (Opinion-wise and all.) It’s more than just that, and certainly, the feeling has been there way before the water balloon fight. 

As he sits before his laptop every night, the lyrics gush out of him as easily as a stream flows in a river. The anxiety of not being able to finish anything for the project has now completely left him, and for the first time in his life, Changbin doesn’t find summer as bad as he used to.

In midst of the unbearable heat and crowded recreational areas, there is a certain muse which fills Changbin’s heart of tenderness and refuge. 

Lee Minho is the summer season personified, reminding Changbin of ice cream vans, flip flops, fireflies, heartwarming smiles, and water balloons. Changbin used to hate summer, but Minho has given him a reason to look forward to it every year. 

  
  


The jewel CD case in Changbin’s hand is cold to the touch, the air conditioning in the bus not failing to inform him that it is functioning and able. The EP has a total of six tracks and two of which are written by Changbin. He can still remember the nights he stayed up writing them, as though they only happened a week ago. It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a year since he has last seen him, since he last talked to him, since Changbin has made his promise. 

“Changbin?” 

It’s time for him to head back. Despite the dreadful feeling creeping in him, he knows he has to. He doesn’t say goodbye. Changbin figures that it’s easier to leave without doing so. Goodbyes always make departures final, and he figures that whatever he and Minho have, he doesn’t want to end it at just that. After hearing the other man call out to him, he immediately turns on his heels, a little too eager to turn back.

“Yes?” 

“This time again, tomorrow?” 

Changbin hesitates, slightly fidgeting as he tries to think of words to say. “We’re leaving tomorrow.” 

“Oh. Right. You mentioned that. I forgot.” Minho’s face shows disappointment for only a fraction of a second, and Changbin holds back a breath at the thought of Minho not wanting him to leave. His crestfallen expression doesn’t even last a moment before he breaks out in a grin. Minho’s facing against the porch light, but despite this, Changbin sees how his face lights up brighter than the fireflies, or the moonlight.

“Then, next year?” 

Changbin smiles back, his heart soaring. “Next year.” 

**Author's Note:**

> this fic and i rly went from strangers to enemies to lovers lmao [my struggles for writing this is incorporated into changbin's stress abt the EP,, the only difference between us is that he ends up finding himself a muse T__T) i ended up liking this anyw and im good with that! thank you for reading! <3


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